Nothing lasts forever, especially in the city. But back in July 1993, it seemed the empty lot on the southeast corner of Bay and Wellesley would remain an empty lot if not forever, at least for the foreseeable future.

This being an important intersection, it was to have been the site of the Ballet-Opera House designed for Toronto by acclaimed Montreal-born architect, Moshe Safdie. But in 1992, recently elected NDP premier Bob Rae killed the project. The price tag had hit $311 million, a lot of money at the time.

But by then everything on the 3.2-hectare provincially owned property had been demolished. The land was sold off and eventually the inevitable condo towers appeared — named, apparently without irony, Opera Place. They are a strangely invisible presence on the Toronto skyline.

Few remember that for several years the site was skate park. The ground was paved with asphalt — “capped” because the soil was polluted — and turned into a course for skaters. From the start, it was understood the facility would be temporary, which might even have been part of its appeal. Above all, though, it was an effective way to fill a gap in the urban fabric, bring life to the streets.

“You can’t just let it sit there,” Stephen McLaughlin, former Toronto planning commissioner and project consultant, said at the time. “The province felt it had a responsibility to show good urban manners.”

Good urban manners! The very concept sounds as antiquated as crinolines and top hats. But in an environment changing as quickly as the Toronto cityscape, land is too valuable to let sit. As the Bay-Wellesley Park made clear, even privately owned property scheduled for redevelopment can serve other purposes, if only for two or three years.

When the provincial cabinet approved a $450,000 scheme to pave the site and bring in planters, trellises, benches and the like, it represented a rare moment in the city’s history when it took such a chance. “Interim uses,” as they’re called, aren’t popular with municipal officials; in a world drowning in liability and litigiousness, maybe that’s not surprising. That’s why it’s easier to say no.

As far as anyone can recall, the park was a positive addition to the city. No one was killed; no lawsuits were served.

Given the amount of empty and underused land in Toronto, and the fast-growing demands on urban space, the idea of allowing temporary uses makes too much sense to ignore. Whether football fields or places to picnic, guerrilla gardens or short-term rentals, there’s room for all.

Indeed, the whole pop-up phenomenon illustrates the growing allure of urban transience. By its very nature, it makes risk less risky. So adept are we at putting up, taking down and getting out the word, stores, even restaurants, need last no longer than a month, occasionally a year or more.

At a higher end, a research hub such as the beleaguered MaRS complex on College St. is an attempt to provide the sort of transitory quarters that young entrepreneurs and startups can have difficulty finding in a city under as much pressure as Toronto.

Urban theorist Jane Jacobs wrote about how “new ideas need old buildings,” but even more than that they need empty buildings with low rents. And if they don’t need them forever, they do need them now.

Spotting such opportunities isn’t hard. Who could forget the driving range that stood in what’s now CityPlace less than a decade ago? Located west of Rogers Stadium, fully visible from the Gardiner Expressway, it was a monument to a city in which land was simply too valuable to leave unexploited.

The sheer incongruity of a driving range in the downtown core gave it considerable resonance. Though frivolous, the temporary golfing facility was a striking and powerful sign of a city open to all possibilities. It was the very image of civic openness and nimbleness. Clearly, this was a city willing to let things happen, take a chance and have some fun.

Had the driving range been permanent, people would not likely have been so accepting. Feelings would have focused on its inappropriateness. A driving range has no place in the downtown core, after all, we have more important things to do with our land.

On the other hand, if it’s only there for awhile, we have to enjoy it while we can.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.